"This is our sport's Nick Saban," Bell said of Penn State coach Cael Sanderson. "This is as big as we can go."

Sanderson began by talking about and demonstrating various techniques. During the first of his three sessions, he pointed out the significance of being "relentless."

"Wrestling is not a game of perfection," he said.

For Sanderson, however, it was. One of the reasons he's one of the biggest names in wrestling is that while at Iowa State, he went 159-0 and won four consecutive NCAA titles from 1999 through 2002. He is the only wrestler in NCAA Division I history to go undefeated in official matches with more than 100 wins.

Two years later, Sanderson won a gold medal at the Athens Olympics.

"Going undefeated wasn't necessarily my major goal in college. It became a goal," Sanderson said before beginning his first session. "But winning four national championships was. And winning in the Olympics was a goal of mine since I was a little kid, so reaching that goal was pretty special."

But Sanderson conceded there was something "unique and special about the college career." Sports Illustrated agreed, naming it the second-most impressive college sports feat behind the setting of four world records by Jesse Owens in a single hour at the 1935 Big Ten track and field conference championship meet.

Sanderson, 35, has continued his success in coaching, having led Penn State to four consecutive NCAA championships.

But it was on the mat that he attracted a legion of followers.

"Cael's been my wrestling hero -- besides Robby Bell -- for as long as I've been wrestling," said Nick Jones, a 2003 Hillcrest graduate who was coached by Robby Bell, a four-time state champion with the Rams.

Jones, who became an assistant at Spring Valley High in Columbia last summer, went with the team to Penn State's camp and met Sanderson.

"I wound up wrestling him for three minutes," Jones said, adding he was beaten soundly. "It was awesome, the most fun I've ever had on a wrestling mat."

The Bells were among those who suggested to Jones that he should ask Sanderson about coming to speak at the clinic.

"So I talked to him, and literally a hundred-something emails later, he's here today," said Jones, who served as Sanderson's drill partner. "It just worked out."